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Member's October Update


barrymitchell

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Welcome to Jack

The club this week confirmed the appointment of Jack Ross as the new manager and the SMISA committee would like to welcome Jack to the Paisley 2021 Stadium.

SMISA's man on the club board David Nicol was obviously involved in the recruitment process and we know Jack really impressed the board with his vision for the club and that they see him as a good fit for their long-term plans.

It was also encouraging to see him talking up the benefits of fan ownership in his interview on the official website today - for those who missed it, there's a good insight into his approach here.

It goes without saying supporting St Mirren hasn't been easy over the past few years and maybe the atmosphere hasn't always helped matters on the pitch.

But we now have a new manager, a new board and a new opportunity to move forward as a club. We hope all members and fans will give their full support to Jack and the team, and hopefully better days lie ahead.

Latest member numbers

Current membership numbers as of the start of October are 1344. That is slightly down on last month but we always expected that over time numbers would tail off and we budgeted on that basis.

Of the handful of cancellations, the feedback we have from those who wrote to us is that their reasons were purely down to finance.

We have been given no indication anybody has left because they are unhappy with the job we are doing or because of results on the park.

As always we would stress the work to take the club into majority fan ownership is a long-term project which will take years to save up for, and that means we need a long-term commitment from as many members to stay the course as possible.

First £2 pot spend

One of the key ways we will be keeping everybody engaged is by spending the £2 proportion of your monthly membership, which we plan to do every three months.

We wrote to you last week with the results of the survey we ran on your priorities and the feedback from that will be used to inform future spending decisions.

As we explained in that update, the bulk of the £8,500 raised through the first three months of #BuyTheBuds money will be used to make up the shortfall (estimated at £6,000-7,000) on the club’s planned disabled platform at the back of the main stand.

But we asked the members to vote on where the remainder of the money should go – either into youth development or to be left in the pot for future investment.

Voting closed earlier in the week and the results were as follows:

Option 1 (Spend on Youth Academy)
43% 325

Option 2 (Carry funds over)
57% 430

Director election

As you know, one of the key points of the #BuyTheBuds campaign is that you the members can elect one of your own to represent you on the club board.

SMISA committee member David Nicol has been doing this role for the past couple of months but it was always our plan to hold an election to be concluded before the club AGM at the end of the year.

We have now produced a set of election rules, along with a timetable detailing how the process will unfold over the next couple of months.

The first stage of that will be a nomination period where any interested members will be able to put themselves forward to go on to the ballot.

The full set of election rules, including details of how to nominate yourself, will be sent out later this week, along with a job description outlining the expected duties of a SMISA rep on the club board.

Volunteer call to action

Something both the SMISA committee and Gordon Scott are keen to investigate is how to harness the membership’s collective power to volunteer on projects which will help the club and community.

The club have approached us with a couple of projects which they need some extra pairs of hands on and have asked if SMISA members are willing to provide them.

The first project involves the possibility of the club installing an electronic advertising billboard on land at the north end of the stadium, which could be a very lucrative income stream.

However the companies who operate these boards will only install one if they know there will be a certain amount of traffic at that location each day.

So to find out if this idea is feasible, the club is looking for a number of volunteers to work in shifts to help electronically count the vehicles at that spot over the course of one day (note - this is likely to be a weekday).

If you were able to spare an hour or two and would like to register an interest in this or any future volunteering opportunities, please send an email to [email protected] and we will be in touch with more detail when we have it.

If there was sufficient interest, this could be the start of a SMISA volunteer pool of people who use their collective skills to work on various club and community projects as and when required.

This could be ideal for members who are perhaps retired and willing to give up some time to, or those who are looking for something to add to their CV.

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Can someone explain why in the Job Description for the board election it states

Quote

The successful candidate will have

• Have a good understanding of business/finance/accounts and experience of managing projects.

• Be entrepreneurial, adaptable and creative in helping to generate new revenue streams for the company.

I don't understand why those attributes would be essential for the SMiSA representative on the board. Surely their main duty is simply to represent the interests of SMiSA members and supporters of the club on the board. Whilst I get that those experiences might well be desirable to the St Mirren board, I would say that it's far more important that the elected member is capable of accurately reflecting the views of the membership than it would be to have experience of managing projects. 

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2 minutes ago, Stuart Dickson said:

Can someone explain why in the Job Description for the board election it states

I don't understand why those attributes would be essential for the SMiSA representative on the board. Surely their main duty is simply to represent the interests of SMiSA members and supporters of the club on the board. Whilst I get that those experiences might well be desirable to the St Mirren board, I would say that it's far more important that the elected member is capable of accurately reflecting the views of the membership than it would be to have experience of managing projects. 

It's not necessarily LESS important for candidates to represent fans views, but to be a functioning, effective and contributory member of the Board that is trying to run a BUSINESS, it's surely sensible to also have those attributes?

Simply being in it for the fans view is a waste of time and space - for everyone.  A fan-owned club needs to get as much bang for its buck as possible.

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1 hour ago, antrin said:

It's not necessarily LESS important for candidates to represent fans views, but to be a functioning, effective and contributory member of the Board that is trying to run a BUSINESS, it's surely sensible to also have those attributes?

Simply being in it for the fans view is a waste of time and space - for everyone.  A fan-owned club needs to get as much bang for its buck as possible.

Yes, all of that is fair enough, but I don't think it should be on the job description as it is basically limiting the field and its a case of either the SMiSA committee, or worse the club, dictating to the membership the terms on which their representative can be selected. 

Put the applicants out there and let the membership decide. Don't screen the runners and riders beyond making sure they don't fall foul of the fit and proper rules on football directors.

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Well, as a fully-paid up eedjit.  member, I DO think it the sensible thing to do. :)

 

why time-waste?  Why energy, money and emotion waste?

 

to utilise your horsey analogy - why insist that all horses entering the Grand National have four legs?

as long as their hearts and three hooves are in the right place...

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Well, as a fully-paid up eedjit.  member, I DO think it the sensible thing to do. [emoji4]

 

why time-waste?  Why energy, money and emotion waste?

 

to utilise your horsey analogy - why insist that all horses entering the Grand National have four legs?

as long as their hearts and three hooves are in the right place...



Why discriminate against the disabled? [emoji25]

Where I'm coming from with this is I've sat on committees with some really impressive people. Lawyers, business owners, PR consultants, and accountants. All of those people had great skills but in every case it was the least skilled person with the biggest passion who drove progress and got work done.

I don't think the SMiSA committee should be limiting the field. The club needs people leading it who are driven by passion. If they've got skills too then that's fantastic, but if the rest of the board has those skills already its probably a doer and not a thinker that the board really needs
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1 hour ago, Stuart Dickson said:

 

 


Why discriminate against the disabled? emoji25.png

Where I'm coming from with this is I've sat on committees with some really impressive people. Lawyers, business owners, PR consultants, and accountants. All of those people had great skills but in every case it was the least skilled person with the biggest passion who drove progress and got work done.

I don't think the SMiSA committee should be limiting the field. The club needs people leading it who are driven by passion. If they've got skills too then that's fantastic, but if the rest of the board has those skills already its probably a doer and not a thinker that the board really needs

 

OK

To try to engage you rationally...  (I know, I know...)

I can understand where your passion may offset a lack of business knowledge...  in certain circumstances.

And I can see why your natural leadership skills would also come in handy.

However, I somehow believe that such plus points are already there in spades on this particular board.

 

GLS certainly doesn't need another leader at this juncture - and EVERYBUDDIE who applies for this post is already evidently passionate.

The skillset alluded to earlier is, to my mind, a pre-requisite, a par for the course, a given.

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No, I'm with Stu on this one.

Any SMISA member should be able to stand for election, regardless of qualifications and experience.  The membership will then decide if they are fit and proper for the position.  That was what we were told early-doors.

Seriously, can I ask who put forward this clause and again seriously, can it be rermoved?

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Quote

The successful candidate will have

• Have a good understanding of business/finance/accounts and experience of managing projects.

• Be entrepreneurial, adaptable and creative in helping to generate new revenue streams for the company.

I  hope whoever is elected, has a better command of the English language than the person who wrote the above? :) 

To have or to have not.  To be or not to be.

Edited by Vambo57
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1 hour ago, Vambo57 said:

 

I  hope whoever is elected, has a better command of the English language than the person who wrote the above? :) 

To have or to have not.  To be or not to be.

 

To be absolutely fair, that is not how it is written in the actual document - http://smisa.net/images/docs/election2016/Job_description_v1.pdf

For avoidance of doubt, the document also states:

"The successful candidate will [...] Be a SMISA member and be passionate about St Mirren and the community around it."

and:

"No specific qualifications are necessary for the position."

 

 

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3 hours ago, Vambo57 said:

 

Seriously, can I ask who put forward this clause and again seriously, can it be rermoved?

Hah!  Serves you right for siding with Dicko.

I quote:

"I  hope whoever is elected, has a better command of the English language than the person who wrote the above? :) 

To have or to have not.  To be or not to be.

Edited 3 hours ago by Vambo57 "

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6 hours ago, antrin said:

OK

To try to engage you rationally...  (I know, I know...)

I can understand where your passion may offset a lack of business knowledge...  in certain circumstances.

And I can see why your natural leadership skills would also come in handy.

However, I somehow believe that such plus points are already there in spades on this particular board.

 

GLS certainly doesn't need another leader at this juncture - and EVERYBUDDIE who applies for this post is already evidently passionate.

The skillset alluded to earlier is, to my mind, a pre-requisite, a par for the course, a given.

First off, for the avoidance of any doubt, I'm not applying and that's not really what I'm getting at here. I actually think I could demonstrate the experience that is being "required" on the job description, I just don't think it should be necessary. If you look at the last board there were plenty of people on there who were St Mirren fans, possibly even passionate St Mirren fans, maybe even SMiSA members. Yet that board was full of procrastinators. Everything seemed to be getting deferred for a later date and decisions only seemed to get made when they were forced on them. 

I can't speak for anyone else but I'd like the opportunity to weigh up each candidate who will hopefully come from a wide range of backgrounds. I want my vote to go to someone I believe can get things done, and who will represent members views as honestly and as forcefully as possible. That could be a corporate man with a background in accountancy or law, but from having dealt with a few of them over my lifetime I can't think of many I know that would fit that profile. 

Edited by Stuart Dickson
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4 hours ago, BLF said:

 

To be absolutely fair, that is not how it is written in the actual document - http://smisa.net/images/docs/election2016/Job_description_v1.pdf

For avoidance of doubt, the document also states:

"The successful candidate will [...] Be a SMISA member and be passionate about St Mirren and the community around it."

and:

"No specific qualifications are necessary for the position."

Yep, it specifies the need for experience in certain fields and then says you don't need qualifications. All of that's fine. What I'm objecting to is the screening of the field by the SMiSA committee or by the club board, beyond ensuring a candidate is not a bankrupt, and that they comply with the fit and proper regulations at the SFA. If an individual gets the required number of nominations they should be put forward for the membership to consider for election. 

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2 hours ago, Stuart Dickson said:

 

I can't speak for anyone else ...

Very true  - which is why I disagree with you.

It's my fault that you won't listen to reason...   :rolleyes:

I omitted to mention that in a Voluntary organisation where there is absolutely no professionalism, no competence but just the desperate need for willing hands to help keep a shaky organisation on the road, and no sanction for incompetence except some amateur diddy being upset by something/anything and hopefully going in the huff, then I agree, there is absolutely no need for someone to be competent in the commercial or business aspects of running a business like St Mirren.... if you actually want it to flounder and perish.

 

As  one of the eedjits sorry... members who placed my punt for this to get off the ground and stay airborne I know the type of person I want my punt to be backing... someone competent and fit for the task.

 

 

BTW I don't mean to offend you but you're almost as bad as Faraway for returning to a baited hook....   :whistle

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1 minute ago, antrin said:

Very true  - which is why I disagree with you.

It's my fault that you won't listen to reason...   :rolleyes:

I omitted to mention that in a Voluntary organisation where there is absolutely no professionalism, no competence but just the desperate need for willing hands to help keep a shaky organisation on the road, and no sanction for incompetence except some amateur diddy being upset by something/anything and hopefully going in the huff, then I agree, there is absolutely no need for someone to be competent in the commercial or business aspects of running a business like St Mirren.... if you actually want it to flounder and perish.

 

As  one of the eedjits sorry... members who placed my punt for this to get off the ground and stay airborne I know the type of person I want my punt to be backing... someone competent and fit for the task.

 

 

BTW I don't mean to offend you but you're almost as bad as Faraway for returning to a baited hook....   :whistle

I must be cause I had no idea I was being baited. However since you are on the wind up I guess I can ignore everything you are saying on this thread. :rolleyes: 

Me? I'm just genuinely interested why the SMiSA committee took it upon themselves to put in place a criteria for election when all previous correspondence appeared to suggest that any member would be able to stand for election.

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27 minutes ago, Stuart Dickson said:

 

Me? I'm just genuinely interested why the SMiSA committee took it upon themselves to put in place a criteria for election when all previous correspondence appeared to suggest that any member would be able to stand for election.

No.

you're NOT genuinely interested.

 

if you had been, you would have read and understood the explanations I've given above. And if genuinely interested, you would have had the energy and capacity to understand.

But you have no interest - beyond yourself.  You just want another thread centred on you and your inanity.  YOU are your sole interest.

Any member CAN stand for election, even yourself.  The qualities sought to fill the post WILL be found in some good Buddie.

your equivocation about volunteering yourself above was redundant.  There wouldn't be a snawbaw's chance in Saudi Arabia of you being recognised as a good fit.

i tried above to let you down as gently as I could, knowing your self-image to be short-sighted.

 

 

i hope this helps? :)

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44 minutes ago, antrin said:

No.

you're NOT genuinely interested.

 

if you had been, you would have read and understood the explanations I've given above. And if genuinely interested, you would have had the energy and capacity to understand.

But you have no interest - beyond yourself.  You just want another thread centred on you and your inanity.  YOU are your sole interest.

Any member CAN stand for election, even yourself.  The qualities sought to fill the post WILL be found in some good Buddie.

your equivocation about volunteering yourself above was redundant.  There wouldn't be a snawbaw's chance in Saudi Arabia of you being recognised as a good fit.

i tried above to let you down as gently as I could, knowing your self-image to be short-sighted.

 

 

i hope this helps? :)

 

Are you saying you are on the SMiSA committee? If so can you reveal your real identity? If not I'll await my real explanation from someone at SMiSA. :rolleyes: 

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You're lucky to be given MY explanation.  Let it suffice.

THEY are more important than me.

YOU are less important than me.




That's interesting cause in a membership model like the one SMiSA have set up I would have thought everyone had one vote.

I do hope that you find the courage, one day, to stop hiding behind an alias.
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If the SMISA vote comes down in favour of an absolute roaster and GLS doesn't like the person - Can the the board veto the SMISA vote and not allow him/her onto the board?



I suspect the screening process that SMiSA have put in place is exactly this in action. I suspect it's an attempt by Gordon Scott to filter out those he might not like to work with before the election happens.

I feel strongly that in the interests of openness and fairness the attempt to limit the field by specifying essential skills should be dropped. Any member putting themselves forward who gets the required number of nominations should be a candidate, and SMiSA and Gordon Scott should trust the membership to select the best representative.
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